Starship Block 2 and Pad 1 end on a high note with Flight 11

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SpaceX completed the use of Block 2 and Pad 1 on a high note with a completely successful mission with Flight 11. Booster 15-2 and Ship 38 completed all of their objectives and helped to erase the disappointment from Block 2 earlier in the year.

Booster 15-2

Booster 15-2 and Ship 38 lifted off at 6:23:45 from Pad 1 at Starbase, Texas. As with every flight except Flights 1 and 4, all 33 engines were running at liftoff, and unlike Flight 10, no engines shut off during the ascent.

Then, for the last time with this ship and booster configuration, hotstaging was completed flawlessly. This system was introduced during the downtime between Flight 1 and 2 and hasn’t seemed to cause any issues for either the ship or booster.

Booster 15-2 and Ship 38 for Flight 11 in Flight (credit: Tyler Gray for NSF)

Following stage separation, the boost back burn started up, and the only issue for the booster came when a single Raptor engine failed to relight for the boost back burn.

This has happened a few times at this point, but the other 12 engines can adjust. And other than Booster 7, which never made it to staging, and Booster 9, which blew up during the boost back burn, since Flight 3, all boosters have made it past boost back burn without any issues.

With the boost back complete, and for the final time, Booster 15-2 separated its hotstage ring to let it fall into the gulf. From now on, with Block 3, the hot stage is integrated with the forward section of the booster. The booster then began its glide back to its landing area in the Gulf, and when the 13-engine landing burn ignited, all engines, including the one that failed to relight during the boost back burn, ignited.

This has happened several times with Blocks 1 and 2 of the booster, where an engine that has failed at one portion of the flight can come back online because the flight computer deemed the engine healthy enough to attempt relight. Booster 15-2 was then down-selected from 13 engines to five engines, then down to three engines performing the Block 3 landing burn. This landing burn profile will enable more redundancy during the final adjustment phase of the landing burn, and allowing the booster to exert greater control over its trajectory.

Once down to three engines, the booster entered a hover above the Gulf before shutting off all its engines, dropping into the water, and exploding. With the very successful flight of Booster 15-2, it leaves behind a legacy of Super Heavy Booster Block 1 and 2 vehicles, which, except for the very first flight, have always successfully reached staging. It has been one of the more reliable aspects of the program as teams work to resolve all the issues with Starship.

Ship 38

Booster 15-2 would not be the only one giving Pad 1 the proper sendoff, as Ship 38 completed its ascent burn and was stable and controlled entering the coast phase. This makes it the second Block 2 ship to achieve this, helping to create a better legacy for Block 2 alongside Ship 37.

Once in the coast phase, Ship 38 completed both primary test objectives, the Starlink simulator deploy, and the in-space burn. The Starlink simulator deploy went better than with Ship 37, as teams might have adjusted to the tension on the chain that helps throw the satellites out of the payload bay. This time, none of the Starlink simulators hit the door on the way out, and the entire operation seemed much smoother.

Then, for the third time in the program, SpaceX completed an in-space burn with a center Raptor engine. This test is crucial so that SpaceX can be confident that when a ship is put into orbit, teams can deorbit it in a controlled manner.

With both coast phase objectives completed, Ship 38 then entered reentry interface; unlike with Ship 37, there were no explosions with the engine chill lines. SpaceX stated on the stream that these issues were caused by ice blockage, which was then ignited with static discharge.

As seen on the livestream, Ship 38 made it all the way through peak heating without any apparent burn-through or damage to the flaps. During the reentry phase, Ship 38 performed pitching maneuvers and what appeared to be S turns, similar to those of the Space Shuttle, to help bleed off speed and maintain stability in flight.

Then, at around 52 km but still traveling at 15000 km/h, Ship 38 started a new maneuver that SpaceX called the dynamic banking maneuver. This is a banking turn that turns the ship to the south to bring it in line, as if it were going to be caught on Pad 2(B)’s tower. This maneuver is similar to an airplane banking and lining up with a runway for landing, but with an object traveling at several thousand kilometers per hour.

With this completed, Ship 38 then entered the full belly flop before engaging the flip and burn and landing on target in the Indian Ocean. The day after launch, SpaceX released drone footage of the belly flop and landing, showing outgassing coming from the main propellant tanks and the nose cone. The only way this is possible from the heat shield side is if there were holes in the main tanks due to reentry heating.

These holes were only in locations where tiles had been removed before flight. This demonstrates the resilience of the ship, showing that with a full heat shield, these vehicles will have no issue returning intact. And even when there are holes in the main propellant tank, the ship is still strong enough to land on target accurately.

Flight 11 was a perfect send-off for Blocks 1 and 2 and for Pad 1 as SpaceX ends flight tests this year on a high note.

Flight 12

Next up is Block 3, Raptor 3, and Pad 2(B) with Booster 18 and Ship 39. Currently, Booster 18 has a fully stacked Liquid Oxygen tank, and the Liquid Methane tank has just started. Once fully stacked, it will be interesting to see how long it takes SpaceX to prepare Booster 18 for cryogenic proof testing.

Ship 39 in Starfactory before rolling to Mega Bay 2 (Credit: Ceaser for NSF)

Ship 39’s nose cone and payload bay recently rolled to Mega Bay 2 and has since had its pez dispenser installed. It is unclear when these vehicles will be ready for single-vehicle testing and eventually full-stack testing. The ground equipment side of the equation is that Masseys isn’t fully completed yet to support ship static fires after Ship 36 blew up, and Pad 2(B) isn’t complete yet.

Overall, there is likely to be some downtime until Flight 12 occurs, but Pad 2(B), Block 3, and Raptor 3 are the future of the Starship program.

Featured Image: Booster 15-2 and Ship 38 Liftoff for Flight 11 (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

The post Starship Block 2 and Pad 1 end on a high note with Flight 11 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.



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